Unsheathed

After arriving on the second floor, Pei Qian hurriedly overtook Chen Ping’an to open the door for him, acting much like a lackey.

Chen Ping’an strode inside, and Pei Qian was slightly hesitant about whether she should follow. However, Chen Ping’an had already turned around and instructed, “Ask the inn for three more rooms and tell Jiu Niang to put the bill under my name first. Also, tell Wei Xian that I’m going to cultivate in seclusion for a few days and that I won’t entertain any guests during this time. It’s best that the five of you don’t stray too far away from the inn.”

Pei Qian looked at Chen Ping’an and asked, “Are you okay?”

Chen Ping’an didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. He was riddled with injuries and caked in blood, so did he look okay in any way?

“I won’t die,” he replied in a casual manner.

Pei Qian carefully closed the door and said, “Call me if you need anything. I’ll be right next door.”

Chen Ping’an nodded in response.

First and Fifteenth hovered inside the room as Chen Ping’an retrieved a stack of cleansing talismans and plastered them all around the room. After doing this, he retrieved two porcelain bottles of vastly different quality. One was a red bottle from Lu Tai, containing ointment that could heal severe wounds. Chen Ping’an had personally experienced the mystical power of this ointment after the battle outside Flying Eagle Fortress.

The other bottle contained unique secret medicine from the Yang Family’s medicine shop, and this medicine could suppress any pain regardless of how severe the pain was. Chen Ping’an had come across many spirits and ghosts during his two long trips, yet he had never encountered a situation where he had needed to use this medicine. Surprisingly, however, he was now about to use it in this small border town.

Chen Ping’an took off his severely damaged Dao robe, stretching many wounded muscles and tendons in the process. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead as he sat down at the table and shakily popped open the plain white porcelain bottle from the Yang Family’s medicine shop, pouring a pitch-black pill into his hand and tossing it into his mouth.

He forcefully swallowed the pill, and he even grabbed his wine gourd to take a swig of green plum wine. Only then did he open the red bottle and start to apply the thick ointment on his hands, elbows, and shoulders. This was a torturous process.

The eunuch from the Great Quan Empire had been far more powerful than Chen Ping’an had imagined. Chen Ping’an had already been careful enough when dealing with this troublesome situation, bringing not just Martial Arts Maniac Zhu Lian to life, but also Lu Baixiang and Sui Youbian to life from their respective picture scrolls. However, he hadn’t imagined that Li Li would be so unreasonably powerful. Not only was the eunuch a Qi refiner, but he even possessed a powerful physique that could rival sixth tier pure martial artists.

Chen Ping’an had only had three grain rain coins remaining before, but following the old Daoist priest and the young Daoist priest with the gigantic golden gourd’s lines of thought, he had decided to take a small gamble, tossing a single grain rain coin into Sui Youbian’s picture scroll, the one that he was least inclined to invest in. Sure enough, a single grain rain coin was all it took for the female sword immortal from the Lotus Flower Blessed Land to gracefully walk out from the picture scroll and arrive in Majestic World.

It was clear that the young Daoist priest had performed careful calculations and realized that Chen Ping’an would definitely leave Sui Youbian’s picture scroll to last. If it weren’t for the small lotus flower spirit setting him on the right path, Chen Ping’an’s personal preference would have been to start with Martial Arts Maniac Zhu Lian, then the founding emperor of Southern Garden Nation, Wei Zhen, the founder of the demonic forces, Lu Baixiang, and finally the sword immortal, Sui Youbian.

If Chen Ping’an had followed this order, then spending fifteen grain rain coins on Zhu Lian would have been a hugely deflating result. That being the case, Chen Ping’an might have genuinely rolled the three remaining picture scrolls up and put them away for a long time.

Chen Ping’an sat in front of the table and closed his eyes, with his hands hanging naturally by his sides. Even though he was sitting, he visualized that he was doing so while practicing standing meditation. His breathing gradually calmed down, making him appear like an old monk entering a state of meditation and a Daoist priest entering a state of deep trance.

Two days passed, and it was noon when Chen Ping’an changed into a set of clean clothes and finally left his room. He stood in front of the railings, and noticed something strange about the first floor of the inn. It was peaceful and calm, but it was exactly for that reason that it appeared strange.

The hunchbacked Third Grandpa was smoking near the kitchen curtain, the lame young boy was walking around the restaurant and wiping down the tables and chairs, and Jiu Niang was attending to a table of customers drinking to their heart’s content. Meanwhile, Zhong Kui, the impoverished scholar in azure robes, was sitting on the door threshold with an aggrieved look in his eyes.

If it weren’t for Chen Ping’an sensing the four sets of slow and subtle breathing in the neighboring rooms, he would have almost been led to believe that nothing had happened at all. It was as if he had never come across the son of the duke or the eunuch in bright red official garb.

Only two days had passed, yet it felt as if that battle had occurred an entire lifetime ago. Chen Ping’an had tempered his Martial Dao during the battle of life and death, but he had received fewer benefits compared to his battle with Ding Ying in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land. Even so, he felt stronger emotions attached to the battle in the inn. This was perhaps related to both his mental state and the outcome of the battle.

The first “picture scroll person” to walk out of their room was Martial Arts Maniac Zhu Lian. He was still hunchbacked, and he smiled as he cupped his fists at Chen Ping’an and said, “Congratulations, Young Master, you’ve obtained fortune from the misfortune.”

Chen Ping’an nodded in acknowledgment before asking, “What happened to those cavalrymen and the other members of the Yao Clan outside the inn?”

Zhu Lian shuffled next to Chen Ping’an before chuckling in a soft voice, “That noble person from the Great Subduing Academy suppressed the people from all three forces once he revealed his strength. The prince outside the inn dismounted his horse and immediately led his subordinates away. He only took Little Duke Gao Shuyi’s corpse with him, and didn’t even dare to mention the corpse of Eunuch Li Li.

“As for the slightly older prince and the border army of the Yao Clan that was rushing over, they didn’t dare to come to the inn at all. They immediately turned around and left. When the innkeeper and the others finally regained consciousness, Zhong Kui made up a story and said that it was Chen Ping’an who comprehensively suppressed the enemies and used your fists to make them see reason.

“At the same time, he said that the other prince became involved as well, transforming this disastrous conflict into a negligible matter. Afterward, the noble person continued to freeload here and live off free food and free drinks. Things will be incredibly interesting if all of the scholars in Majestic World are like this.”

After explaining this, Zhu Lian discussed some of the finer details of the battle.

Chen Ping’an walked toward the stairs and asked, “Jiu Niang and the others are still in the dark about all this? Is this really okay?”

Zhu Lian smiled and replied, “This noble person from the Confucian academy definitely gave a heads-up to all three forces already. These people aren’t allowed to reveal his identity, and he’s purposely keeping the innkeeper and the others in the dark.”

“Where’s Pei Qian?” Chen Ping’an asked.

Zhu Lian pointed in the direction of Fox Town and replied, “She borrowed some copper coins from someone, and she’s currently enjoying life in Fox Town.”

Chen Ping’an furrowed his brow and walked downstairs, directly walking toward the impoverished scholar sitting in the doorway. Zhu Lian didn’t follow him over, and he appeared quite like an old steward in a small residence as he sat down at the table closest to the doorway.

Chen Ping’an sat down on the door threshold and grabbed his wine gourd, offering it to Zhong Kui.

The impoverished scholar in azure shook his head as his eyes remained firmly fixed on the innkeeper who was chatting and smiling with some customers. “No thanks, wine that isn’t personally handed to me by Jiu Niang is simply tasteless.”

Chen Ping’an retracted his hand and took a swig of wine by himself, asking, “Who were the prisoners being transported by Gao Shuyi and the others? What are their positions in Northern Jin Nation?”

Zhong Kui didn’t hide anything from Chen Ping’an, casually replying, “I think they were remnant forces from Pine Needle Lake’s water god temple as well as the official mountain god, Jin Huang, and his wife and retainers. Anyhow, it was simply a case of a third party reaping the rewards after a conflict between two other parties. The third prince of the Great Quan Empire captured them all in one fell swoop.

“If it weren’t for your interference, the prison carriages would most likely have gained several new members from the Yao Clan. However, you don’t need to worry about this anymore because I already promised you that I would clean up the mess and deal with everything else. You don’t need to worry about the Great Quan Empire treating you as an enemy. Of course, I can’t stop the third prince or the duke from feeling hatred toward you. If you can’t even handle these measly things…”

Chen Ping’an smiled and replied, “I should be fine with handling these matters. I’m sure that it’s very unlikely for a second imperial guardian to appear in the Great Quan Empire.”

The Great Quan Empire was indeed far more powerful than Water Combing Nation and Colorful Garment Nation which were located in the central region of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent.

In terms of how Commandery Governor Jin Huang—whom Chen Ping’an had a fairly good impression of—had suddenly gone from a mountain god to the prisoner of a foreign nation? Chen Ping’an had already killed the azure buffalo and further dealt with his subordinates, so he wasn’t interested in anything else that happened afterward. He definitely wouldn’t stick his nose into this matter and try to get to the bottom of everything.

When Chen Ping’an mentioned Eunuch Li Li, Scholar Zhong Kui’s expression immediately became a little cloudy. It appeared as if this was a very troublesome matter.

Upon seeing the scholar fall silent, Chen Ping’an turned around to observe the situation outside the inn. However, he still felt a little worried, so he directly stood up and walked over to the official road, looking toward Fox Town. He was worried that Pei Qian would cause trouble over there.

After a while, Chen Ping’an returned to the inn and ordered a table of food from Innkeeper Jiu Niang. He told Zhu Lian to call Lu Baixiang and the others downstairs, and they had just finished eating when Pei Qian swaggered back into the inn, appearing very happy. However, she immediately felt a little guilty when she saw Chen Ping’an, with her eyes starting to dart around in a nervous manner.

Chen Ping’an didn’t interrogate Pei Qian about anything, and he simply asked her whether she had eaten yet. The little girl’s belly was bulging, yet she still shook her head and said no. Thus, she sat down and helped herself to the cold leftovers. Chen Ping’an walked out of the inn by himself to stroll around and relax his mind.

When he returned, however, he discovered that a group of people were blocking the front door of the inn and loudly cursing at someone inside. It was a very lively situation.